Dry water wells have property owners concerned

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX (KTRE) - The community is called Gold Mine Hollow. Supposedly there are some mines in the area, but none of them can solve Thomas Hammond's problem. " I had to move and I can't sale the house because there is no water to it. Nobody wants to buy a house with no water," explained Hammond. His water well has gone dry. Hammond's sister bought a new pump, thinking it would fix the problem. Hammond said, " It pumped water for 15 minutes and then sand came out and so they didn't have any water." The local well service then told the Hammond about other families who moved out of Gold Mine Hollow because of dried up wells.

Residents with deeper wells aren't experiencing problems. Yet they have their opinions. Gold Mine Hollow is located smack in the middle of the Trawick oil and gas fields. Drilling is occurring all around the residents. Resident Randy Benson said, " The vibration has been horrendous. It's a mile or so down the road where they were drilling and you can feel it vibrate here. It causes the well walls to collapse and that would do it too." Caro Water Company manager Bobby Torrence doesn't rule out the connection either. " They drill into the water table and they're not casing the wells that well."

Yet another likely possibility is the wells dried up because they're old and located in extremely sandy ground. On the map Gold Mine Hollow is miles from commercial water providers. The cost of pipe alone would be more than the residents can afford. The other option is to drill a new well. That too is expensive. Hammond shared, " It's like $12,000 to get deep enough to get any water. "

So for now Hammond lives with relatives and continues to wonder why the water wells of Gold Mine Hollow are drying up. Hammond has contacted state and federal agencies, but hasn't gotten any help. He's now applying for a low interest loan. He hopes if approved it will help pay for a new well.

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Currently inLufkin, TX

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